The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-31
INTERESTING RELICS.
Discoveries Made Fifty-five Feet Be-
low the Surface or the Earth.

son & Green, railroad contractors has
in his possession, says The Mlwaukec
Sentinel, several specimens which will
be of much interest to antiquarians and
naturalists, which were obtained under
rather peculiar circumstances.
Mr.. Harrison firm is the contractor
for the construction of the new branch
of the Chicago, Milwaukee and st.
Paul railway from Sioux City to Manila
Junction, Iowa, The road follows the
level of the Missouri river for n part of
the distance. About forty miles south
east of Sioux City, within distance of
four miles from Napoleon Station, and
ten miles from the Missouri river val
ley, the new railway line encounters a
high hill, which is the main divide be-
tween the valleys of the Maple and Lit
tie Sioux rivers. This divide is more
than ten miles long, and the elevation
varies in width from half a mile to a
mile and a half The railway line crosses
the hill at its lowest point. To accom-
plish this it was necessary to dig cut
sixty-four feet deep and little over
half mile in length. The earth which
1t was necessary to remove In digging
the cut is, with the exception of that on
the surface, the yellowish clay which Is
characteristic of that part Of Iowa.
This clay is very compact and devoid
Of rock and gravel.
At depth of from thirty to thirty
FIVE feet, on the side Of the hill sloping
toward the Little Sioux valley. the
workmen in digging the cut discovered
what Mr.. Harrison believes TO be the
marks Of eleven tepec fires. A guam
tity of wood ashes was found in each of
the eleven places, varying from half
bushel to bushol and half With
each deposit of ashes was also found .
quantity Of charcoal.
Further along in the cut was found
what appeared to DO the remains of an
old structure. the nature and purpose
of which could not be determined. The
workmen engaged on the cut call it the
'lime-kill," Two walls of soft limo
stone, about sixteen feet apart rise per-
pendcularly through the clay, and we're
first noticed at depth of fifty feet from
the serface. The walls are from eigh-
teen inches to two feet thick, and were
removed by the workmen for perpen-
dicular distance of ten feet before the
level of the railroad grade was reached,
without discovering the base Of the Pc
culiar formation.
About 500 feet from the slime kiln"
was found another trophy, AT depth
Of fifty-five feet from the surface the
workmen discovered, pointing dagon-
ally across the course of the railroad |
track, the trunk of black walnut or
ash tree. about foot in diameter
Twelve feet of the protrudng timber
was cut of, and the remainder was left
imbedded in the side of the cut, When
the axes of the workmen cut into the |
tree, the wood was apparently sound.
but when il had been subjected to the &C
ton Of the air, the water in which 1t was
soaked evaporated and the wood gave
evidence of extreme rottenness. Mr..
Harrison secured piece about a foot
long, which he brought with him to
Milwaukee.
Still another find was made in this
extraordinary railroad cut. The bones
Of some large animal, in badly-decay-
ed state, were discovered and were
thrown out on the dump-pile with no
care or thought Of saving them Mr..
Harrison obtained the skull, which in
appearance resembled buffalo. though
somewhat larger. He saved four of the
teeth, and they are now in the posses
sion Of Henry Mann, of this city, who
as naturalist has some interest in dis
covering the species OF the animal
whose bones were found under such pc
culiar circumstances. Prof. Peckham
will assist Mr.. Mann in his efforts to
classify the animal.
The question of particular interest in
with these discoveries is:
What were the circumstances under
which the skeleton and the tree, which
!. course were at one time on top of
the earth, became buried so far beneath
It's surfaceP Antiquarians may also try
to guess what race Of beings built the
tepee fires, the evidence Of which is